John Fabian Witt is the Allen H. Duffy Class of 1960 Professor of Law at Yale Law School, a professor of history at Yale University, and a 2010 Guggenheim Foundation fellow. His writing has appeared in publications such as The New York Times, Slate, and the Harvard Law Review. He is the author of two previous books on the history of American law: Patriots and Cosmopolitans and The Accidental Republic.
"Lincoln's Code is a rich, subtle, and honest book that uncovers
the deep impact of the laws of war in American history. It is chock
full of truly novel insights. I learned a ton from it and will
continue to learn a ton on rereading. It is a great book, one that
will last forever." --Jack Goldsmith, Harvard University, author of
Power and Constraint: The Accountable Presidency After 9/11
"A gripping narrative of the struggle to maintain the aspiration to
honor, decency and common humanity amidst the brutal imperatives of
war--from our war for independence, through the Civil War to the
suppression of the insurrection in the Philippines. At the center
John Witt places the first code for the conduct of war, promulgated
by Lincoln during the darkest days of the Civil War: harsh,
relentless, realistic, yet placing firm limits forbidding torture,
the abuse of prisoners, treachery and purposeful harm to civilians.
This book is an important addition to the ever-growing monument to
our greatest and most complex national leader." --Charles Fried,
author, with Gregory Fried, of Because It Is Wrong: Torture,
Privacy and Presidential Power in the Age of Terror
"As bitter disputes still fester about how far Americans should
submit to international legal rules, John Fabian Witt offers a
dispassionate historical perspective and an insightful truth. From
the beginning, Witt shows, America has proclaimed moral rules and
deployed military force, no more paradoxically in combination than
during our Civil War, in which Francis Lieber first codified the
law of war for the world. Witt's book is deeply researched and
beautifully written: an indispensable masterpiece for anyone who
cares about how America's past bears on our present and future."
--Samuel Moyn, Columbia University, author of The Last Utopia:
Human Rights in History
"If there was ever a time for this book, it is now. As the war on
terror continues unabated and controversy continues over the use of
military commissions, detention, interrogation, due process and
civil liberties, this extraordinary and well written account about
the laws of war in America is a primer and road map for our
citizens and those who are, or should be, trying to comprehend and
prepare the legal and military processes for all present and
future." --Frank J. Williams, Chief Justice (ret.), Supreme Court
of R.I. and founding Chair, The Lincoln Forum
"In this splendid and readable narrative, John Fabian Witt shows
how Americans from the Founding Fathers to Abraham Lincoln argued,
and sometimes agonized, over the elusive and indistinct boundary
between the legitimate application of military force on behalf of
the nation and crimes against humanity. Here is an original and
important synthesis that helps illuminate our nation's moral and
political underpinnings, and establishes a context for modern
considerations of the laws of war." --Craig L. Symonds, author of
Lincoln and His Admirals and winner of the Lincoln Prize
Pulitzer Prize Finalist
Bancroft Prize Winner
ABA Silver Gavel Award Winner
Scribes Book Award Winner
William Hurst Book Prize Winner
A New York Times Notable Book of the Year
Kirkus Reviews Top 25 Nonfiction of the Year--Honors and awards
received by Lincoln's Code
"[Lincoln's Code] will please Civil War buffs, legal and military
historians, and international lawyers alike. Witt's research on
letters, drafts, and other documents written by Lieber and the
other major figures is impressive, and he presents it lucidly,
fairly, and comprehensively, enabling the reader to draw his own
conclusions."--Eric Posner "Slate "
"Exhaustive, authoritative, written with drama and flair, Lincoln's
Code is a remarkable work about remarkable men. Witt examines the
attitudes and actions that characterized military conduct prior to
the Civil War, and then traces the impact of the Lieber Code on
world affairs in the century and more that followed, all
demonstrating what a genuinely unique and revolutionary act it was
for Lincoln, his war leaders, and Lieber, to rise above their
temporal conflict by attempting to make some sense out of chaos,
and some humanity from inhumanity."--William C. Davis "History Book
of the Month Club "
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